A/N: 2 years... TWO. Years. I cannot believe I kept you guys waiting this long. I'll keep my reasonings short: constant gallstones attacks, a tornado hitting my neighborhood back in Fall 2018, being kept in the hospital for a few days to get surgery to finally remove my gallstones (in a time of COVID-19 by the way), and taking a break from writing BECAUSE of these events. I just held off my writing more and more, to the point where I literally stopped for a year.I am so sorry I kept you guys waiting for so long, but just know I am set for finishing this story. Not because I feel obligated, but because it's a story I truly want to finish. But hey, this is the longest chapter I've ever written... with 32 000 words... oh boy. You all might need to take a few breaks with this one, haha. Seriously, I had NO idea just how many ideas I had for their sixth year.I hope you are all doing well during this pandemic. Being an introvert, I've been doing fine. In fact, because of being in quarantine, I got to finally finish up this chapter! I even went outside many times this week just to write some more in the nice weather. Don't worry, I'm making sure to keep my distance.Lastly, because this chapter took so long, I would LOVE to hear some feedback! Seriously, the feedback you guys have been giving me just makes my day and inspires me to write more and more. With all that being said, enjoy this very long chapter!
Thursday July 21st 2022:
"Albus must be going mad."
Scorpius took his time in unrolling the parchment in his hands, anticipating the worst. He knew how afflicted Albus was waiting for his own O.W.L.s results, but he was cocksure about his results, unlike his own. Repressing his breath, he focused on the inscription written on the parchment:
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS:
Pass Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY HAS ACHIEVED:
Ancient Rules: P
Astronomy: P
Arithmancy: O
Charms: E
Defence Against the Dark Arts: A
Herbology: E
History of Magic: O
Potions: E
Transfiguration: A
Scorpius re-examined each word printed to confirm he was reading what he thought he was. Sure, the results were not spectacular, but it was much better than he originally thought they would be. His hearing suddenly picked up on the delicate flapping of an owl's wings, and he was proven right when a large barn owl swept in through his bedroom open window; it was the Potter's family owl. Scorpius smirked and removed the letter from the messenger's beak. No doubt it was Albus informing him on his results.
The owl shared some water out of Dexter's dish – which resulted in him clicking his beak in annoyance.
Scorpius detached the sealing around the letter and was taken aback to see wet splotches on random words.
Hey mate,
I'm gonna get straight to the point, Gerald just passed away. Everyone here is saying that it's because of old age, but I don't believe that. He had at least another year, and he was perfectly healthy until that miserable excuse for a person Roger cursed him. I'm holding a memorial for him. You don't have to come if you don't want to.
P.S: As I'm writing this, I have just received my O.W.L.s results. Did you get yours? How did you do? I'm not in the mood to check mine yet.
- Albus
At that moment, Scorpius instantly understood why there were stains on the paper; they were from Albus' tears. Even he felt like he could cry; he knew how much Gerald meant to Albus, and he was such a well-behaved little critter.
When the Potter's owl hooted in front of him, Scorpius told him, "You can fly back. I don't have a letter to give you."
The owl tilted its head in confusion, but then flew away as instructed, which pleased Dexter. Dexter started hooting at his master as well.
"No, I'm not giving you a letter either, Dexter," Scorpius said. "I'm going to use the Floo Network to get there as soon as possible."
Dexter was recognizably disappointed, but appeased that his owner didn't use another owl, so he nipped at Scorpius' ear affectionately and ate some of his treats.
Scorpius grabbed a handful of Floo powder atop of his fireplace mantel and spoke his destination very clearly. After a drop of the powder, followed by an eruption of flame he was still located in a fireplace, but in another destination. He perceived that he was in the correct house when he took notice of Lily Luna Potter turning his way and screaming, followed by her teacup crashing to the floor and spilling into pieces.
"Sorry, Lil! Didn't mean to scare you," Scorpius apologized alongside a disconcerted chuckle. He stepped out of the fireplace and aimed his wand at the shattered teacup. " Reparo!" The pieces of shattered glass attached back together as good as new, but remained untouched by Lily.
The young Potter caught her breath and allowed her heart rate to settle. "You scared the living shite outta me! But I'm glad it's just you!" She sprinted forward to hug the unexpected visitor.
"Lily! What happened? Is everything--"
Scorpius caught a glimpse of Albus' sad, red, and puffy face from afar, but the red hue seemed to give his face a brilliant glow as he smiled. "Scorpius! You're here!"
Like Lily, Albus dashed over to his friend and threw his arms around Scorpius in a fierce embrace. They held each other for the longest time, but neither of them seemed to notice, with the exception of Lily.
"Ahem."
That intentional cough was like a wakeup call, and so the two young men reluctantly parted from each other's arms.
"How did you get here?" Albus asked. "Ask Lil over here," Scorpius chuckled.
In the midst of picking up her empty teacup from the ground, Lily replied, "Through the damn fireplace. And that should give you a little hint on why you heard me screaming."
"Why didn't you send me an owl first?" Albus questioned. "I wanted to get here as soon as possible," Scorpius replied.
Again that glow brightened up the brunet's face. "You didn't have to."
"You may not be able to tell from my bro's crazy giant affectionate smile, but he's really glad you're here," Lily said. "Been pretty lonely here today for him with mum and dad at work."
"Where's James?"
"Gone to a friend's," Lily answered, walking into the kitchen for a refill. "Good thing too. He wouldn't care," Albus said.
"I doubt that, Albus. James stood up for Gerald when Roger cursed him," Scorpius said, sincerely. "Who knows," Albus said, gloomily.
Cutting the discussion short, the familiar family barn owl flew in through the parlour's open window, surprised about Scorpius suddenly being there. After Albus stroked the bird's wing and fed him some treats, he faced Scorpius and took a deep breath. "Come on. Let's go outside." Scorpius followed.
The backyard looked the same as it always did, but with a narrow dug-up tunnel under the ground with a rectangular box inside.
"I couldn't bear to see his face, so I wrapped him in a cozy blanket inside the box. I know being comfortable wouldn't matter to him, since he's... you know. But I couldn't help it." Albus choked on a sob, and Scorpius rubbed his shoulder.
"Well, in traditional funerals, the body is laid down on a pillow and blanket, so apparently the finest comfort is most essential," Scorpius mentioned.
"Are you trying to be funny?" "I... actually don't know."
Albus grinned amusingly, and so did Scorpius. "So. Are you ready?" Scorpius asked.
"Not yet. I'm waiting for Hagrid," Albus said. "I sent him an owl and he sent me one back saying he'll be here."
"That's nice of him,"
Just then a thunderous knock was heeded from the front door of the house, accompanied by thunderous footsteps and Lily's voice speaking with another.
"Hagrid!" Al exclaimed.
The groundskeeper ducked his giant head beneath the top of the doorway leading to the backyard.
"Sorry abou' the wait. I will never understand Muggle's way o' transportation when it comes ter speed," Hagrid growled. He hugged Albus, and then he noticed Scorpius. "Hello, Scorpius." He hugged him as well.
Scorpius may not have been accustomed with Hagrid as well as his friend – due to the lack of frequent visits to his hut and no longer taking his class – but he still felt like he knew him well enough from how much Albus discussed him.
"I got yer name righ'?" Hagrid asked when dislocating from the hug. "Yes," Scorpius said, grinning.
"Well tha's good! I haven' seen yeh in a while, but if there's one thing li'le Albus over here talks about more than critters, 's yeh," Hagrid said. "All good things o' course. 'scept fer tha' time when yeh were datin'—"
"Ahem! If you don't mind," Albus interrupted, pointing to the dug up hole in the ground. "Oh, o'course," Hagrid said, immediately tearing up from what he was seeing.
Albus was relieved not only to get their focus back on what was happening, but also for Scorpius not hearing the rest of that sentence.
In spite of the sentence not finishing, Scorpius knew perfectly well what Hagrid was on the verge of speaking about: the point in his life when he was dating Rose. He knew Albus was not fond of them being an item, but what exactly did he discuss with Hagrid that would put himself into a negative light?
"When yer father was jus' yer age, he was there at Hogwarts for an ol' friend o' mine at his burial: Aragog. I'm sure he told yeh all abou' 'im," Hagrid said, fondling with his hanky.
"Who?"
"Who?" Hagrid repeated in astonishment. "On'y the nicest most gentlest acromantula anyone could ever meet."
"Oh, right," Albus said. Judging by the tales from his father, this giant acromantula who once threatened to feed his parent and uncle to his offspring in the forbidden forest was the opposite of nice and gentle.
Lily walked into the backyard with a fresh cup of tea in hand. "Why is he in tha' box?" Hagrid questioned.
"I can't bear to see him like that," Albus struggled to say.
"Fer me, 's bes' ter see the critter before burying it. Tha' way..."
Hagrid cut himself off when Albus started to sob. He gave Albus another bone-crushing hug. "I'm so sorry. Do wha'ever yeh feel will make yeh cope easier."
"Hagrid, you're... crushing me."
"Sorry," the half-giant said, backing away. "So, are you ready?" Lily asked.
"Yeah," Albus choked.
They stood motionless momentarily, staring at the small box in the ground with nothing but the sounds of birds chirping and children playing from a distance in the background. It was such a beautiful summer day, but that was all neglected to anybody in the group standing there. Especially Albus, who everybody was waiting for to speak first, but he didn't.
"Can I start it off?" Scorpius eventually suggested to Albus.
"Yes. Please," Albus almost yelped, tears falling down his face like Hagrid's. Hagrid offered Albus his spotted handkerchief, but he politely declined.
Scorpius cleared his throat and his eyes shifted from photo to photo that Albus set all around to give him inspiration. An atmosphere like this was difficult for Scorpius to absorb. He was reminded of his mother's burial, but he kept it together as best he could, for Albus. "Gerald, you were the best pet anybody could ever have. You were cute, playful, lovable, but most of all you loved Albus just as much as we do." Albus let loose a whimper, but promptly settled when Scorpius held his hand. "We will miss you, Gerald. But at least we know you are at peace."
"Thank you," Albus whimpered.
Scorpius gently squeezed Albus' hand in response.
Lily went next. Her speech was short but sweet and she picked the loveliest daisy from the garden to place after the burial. When it was Hagrid's turn, he sobbed in between every few words and went on for what felt like an hour, which was greatly appreciated by Albus. Although the constant weeping didn't help his internal struggles.
At long last, it was Albus' turn. His bright puffy red eyes examined his professor's tear-stained, flushed face, to his sister's calm but sentimental expression, and then finally to his best friend. Scorpius smiled, which brought out a shine in his pale-grey eyes; that smile was all the motivation Al needed.
"Gerald, you have always been more than just a pet to me. You were a friend, but also family. I'll always remember the day I got you. I could have gotten a normal pet: a cat, dog, or even an owl. My whole family suggested every one of those, but then I saw you; in a cage with a couple of other ferrets. You were unique, playing with your little jingle toy and avoiding everyone. When I looked at you, you looked back at me. From that one look and you licking my finger, I knew that–" Albus choked on a sob and Scorpius felt a tear glide down his own cheek, "knew that you were meant to be part of our family. You could have still been with his us right now, living a full healthy life, but that sociopath had to take that away from you." Scorpius could tell that Albus' temper was surging, and he was beginning to shake.
Instead of holding Al's hand, his fingers laid on his forearm. Albus looked over at Scorpius with daggers in his eyes, but the look Scorpius gave him calmed him down instantly yet again. "Hopefully you are somewhere better now. I love you, Gerald."
With that final goodbye, all four mourners shovelled the dirt back into the ground over the box, and Lily finally placed her chosen daisy on top the mound and blew a kiss.
Hagrid hugged the grieving teen, and Lily and Scorpius joined in for a group hug.
Minutes later, an owl dropped a letter on top of Hagrid's head. Lily opened it and read what was written out loud.
Hey,
Just got your message, Al. Sorry to hear about Gerald, he was a good pet. If this is Lily reading this, give him this message and give Gerald my well wishes.
- James
"See? He's not always an insensitive twat," Lily said. "Good to know," Albus sniffed.
When Albus took his time to grieve, he set up some tea and biscuits for his guests inside. It was a pleasant bonding moment between them all and it was the most Scorpius ever had speaking with Hagrid. Before Hagrid had to return to his hut, he requested Scorpius to come visit him when they return to school.
When everything seemed to be wrapping up, Lily knew that Albus was going to cry that night, especially with Scorpius leaving, so she came up with a simple solution. "Hey, Scorp. Why don't you stay for the night?"
Albus' whole body perked up, but then he frowned. "Are you forgetting that it's his birthday tomorrow?"
"I'm pretty sure that you want to hang out with your best friend on that special day anyway. I mean, you're already here. You don't have to stay the whole day or anything. I just thought it would be fun. Besides, I think Albus might need it."
Albus looked embarrassed.
"I think that's a great idea, Lil," Scorpius said eagerly. "I'll send a letter to my father."
Albus' whole face lit up, and that gesture reminded Scorpius of how much he missed that smile over the prior few hours.
"Are you planning on summoning an owl telekinetically?" Lily said, dryly.
Scorpius shook his head from any further distractions and fetched the Potter's family owl.
"You're welcome," Lily whispered to Albus, flicking him in the nose with her finger. Albus could have told her to shut up, but he was thankful for her suggestion.